[PLOT IS UNDERWAY]

[directrice]

As of Day 56, night, Reverie's village has given away to the INNER PRISON, another part of the world that has only been seen in glimpses and pieces thus far! Please refer to this document for the new setting information. This setting will remain until September 11, after which the plot will end and characters will be returned to the village.

The new setting does not have a suggestion box, and thus cannot be changed in the same way the village could. However, the new setting will allow for something the village did not: EXPLORATION. Here is how exploration of the new setting will work!

1. Players who are interested in touching something in the setting will fill out this form. Please describe which characters are involved, and also what they intend to do in as much detail as they can! Within a few days I will reply with a tiny little write up of what happens, and you can thread out the scenario at your leisure. This method makes things waaaay easier on me, since I don't have time to run exploradors for 90+ characters r-rofl.

2. Each character can go on two explorations. This is so I am not inundated with exploration requests and die trying to write things up for you, cries. This is also an OOC limit, not an IC one. And to make it clear, this is a character limit, not a player one. So if you have two characters you can do four explorations total, as an example!

3. Characters can do explorations alone; however, I OOCly encourage you to group up with other people, both to lower the amount of requests I get and also because things are more fun in a group! Group requests will likely get more involved responses b/c I'll want to give you all things to thread with, though single requests will still get pertinent things that they can share with the group at large!

4. You will be able to submit exploration requests all the way up until September 5 at mutter mumble time. You have a month to do things, so pace yourselves for sure!

5. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comment below! However, as a note, questions that are "what happens if my character does X" may be best saved for exploration threads, depending on what it is. NOT ALL THINGS WILL COUNT AS EXPLORATIONS; if your character ties to punch a barbed wire fence I can answer that as a mod without it counting as one of your explorations lol. But if your character tries to fix a CCTV, that would be better answered as an exploration. IF THOSE EXAMPLES HELP.

6. Please note that some explorations are going to be dangerous, and characters may be hurt in the midst of same! But no one will die, I can promise you that as a mod. Unless you want to die?? Then you can die. THAT ONE IS UP TO YOU AS A PLAYER.

That's all for explorations, and the last thing I want to say is: all players chosen for Palace Games have been contacted and instructed to keep their participation a secret! Don't worry; they will reveal themselves at least a week or so in advance of Palace Games for sign ups c: Please also note that I am changing the dates of Palace Games due to not realizing I had personal things going on the weekend of September 3 and 4 lol. Palace Games will be running the entire week of September 5 - 11, with each runner scheduling their own time slots during that period. Stay tuned for more information to come!

OKAY. THAT'S ALL FOR NOW. PLEASE HAVE FUN ;w;/ And let me know if there is anything you need from me or if I was really bad at explaining something (I am bad at explaining things), otherwise I'm going to die in my bed now b/c I was up WAY TOO EARLY FOR LIFE.

Thank you as always for being a part of my cute game, and I hope you enjoy some August plotty things!! C:

OH PS: PLACEMENTS WILL BE HAPPENING SOON, and will continue throughout August. New characters will be introduced into the new setting. Give me a bit and I'll get this weekend's placements done asap <3

Comments

[directrice]

OKAY, lumping similar actions into one response, and then doing the other ones by character! Ouija board is last for Reasons (TM).

TO ALL MANACLE THIEVES: As per Hilda's dare, Tangrowth can put her vines in the manacles. They do clasp around her vines almost immediately, but since she can escape by cutting off her vines, it doesn't seem like a huge deal. However, when anyone in the group tries to steal the manacles, the moment they touch them they will LEAP AT HER AND TRY TO CLAMP DOWN ON HER WRISTS. IF they catch her, she will be stuck!! Oh no!! But it's fine, the manacles will fall away with one genuine display of affection, such as a kiss, a hug, a pat on the back, a genuine compliment, etc etc. WHATEVER IS FUN FOR THE GROUP.

The manacles will fall away once the display of affection is completed, and your characters can keep them. They're just normal manacles at that point.

TO ALL CANDLE THIEVES AND INTERACTORS: Talking to the candles unfortunately doesn't seem to elicit any useful response. Every question is met with a giggle, or a roar, or a flickering face winking at you before disappearing. The faces in the candles seem to shift between young demonic women, to teddy bears and creepy stuffed animals, to monstrous beasts. You can steal a candle, if you wish! But then you'll have a creepy face watching you at every waking moment, and that sensation will send a chill up and down your spine.

For Chandeleur specifically, the candles do, in fact, feel like delicious edible souls :9 Om nom. Otherwise, Chandeleur will get the same responses from them.

CLEANING UP THE HALLWAY: It's possible to clean up the shrapnel from the floor for sure! But every time you turn around, there's more?? Where did it come from?? It is impossible to do any cleaning that will stick in this area :( Ingo's Pokemon can easily cut through and clear away the rusted doors, if needed, though.

DA VINCI: She will not be able to sense anything magecraft related :( Alas! But if she can sense spirits, the area is full of them. Spooky spirits who are watching the group's every move.

RITSUKA: JESUS CHRIST RITSUKA?? Anyway she can absolutely take any sharp piece of shrapnel she wants for this explore and any other. There is nothing to be found in the cots, she's just making a bigger mess by scattering mattress stuffing everywhere, sheesh! But the moment she dumps her hand into a watery bucket, a watery hand suddenly lashes out and grabs for her. It will latch onto the nearest piece of her it can grab, whether it's a sleeve or a piece of jewelry or a lock of hair. Whatever it is, it'll rip off whatever it has managed to grasp and then vanish bac into the bucket of water. No amount of searching the bucket will return to her what was taken. For now, it is just-- well. It's gone!!

Good news though, the buckets aren't poisonous. Just gross and full of mold.

INGO: He can dump out the buckets of water! They're full of mold, and dumping them out does not reveal where the mysterious watery hand came from. The water on the floor, however, will bubble and move a little bit like it's alive. It will also possibly try to trip anyone who walks near it. Hm.

SATURN: The plant life isn't poisonous, but it doesn't like being eaten :( The moment one of Saturn's Pokemon eats it, the plant life will become VIOLENT and try to chomp on anyone in the group who gets near it. The vines, especially are fond of eyes! The plant life can at least be beaten back into submission with a few attacks, so injures will be mild at best, but hey. Don't eat the flowers :/!!

Saturn may also take shrapnel and a bucket, with or without water, if he so chooses. If he takes a bucket with water, the water will kind of swirl about the bucket like it's alive from time to time. Occasionally a hand will come out and wave at him. Hewwo.

THE OUIJA BOARD: Closes eyes. At first, there doesn't seem to be any response from Hilda's ouija board. However, just as the group is about to give up, a soft, icy-blue glow suddenly surrounds the planchette, taking control of same from Hilda to answer your questions! Chandeleur will be able to sense the presence, though she will be unable to sense where it is coming from. While talking to the spirit, the room will become icy cold, with frost gathering on all of the metal. When asked its name, the spirit will move the planchette to spell out "M O C K I N G S N O W M A N." Every other question will be answered with a "H E E" or a "H O" or a "H E E H O." The spiritual presence is useless.

Eventually, the planchette will become too cold to touch, and the entire hallway will seem to rumble and shake. From the far end of the hallway, it will come for you: the Hee-Horde from hell. This large horde of MOCKING SNOWMEN will descend upon you like a stampede, crushing everything in its site, including you if you don't run!! Hiding in the cells won't work, because they will flood the cells as well. Is there no safe haven???

Fortunately, Falin and Excadrill are CREATURES OF MASS DESTRUCTION. They can kick out/burrow through a wall pretty easily, though the only thing that exists beyond is a DARK ABYSS. Nevertheless, should characters jump through in an attempt to escape the Hee-Horde from Hell, they will find themselves--

Falling right into the pond again. Which is weird, because they were nowhere near the pond?? What the heck? They're all probably chilly and wet but unharmed, at least!

[directrice]

RITSUKA: Simply typing on the keyboard doesn't do anything other than produce some mysterious beeps. But when she fiddles with the monitors, one of them suddenly springs to life before her!! How it was fixed is a mystery, but hey, it's there! The only thing displayed on the monitor is an old-timey command screen with a blinking cursor. After the command screen pops up, she can type in whatever she wants, but the only response she gets are words that begin with the last letter of the last word she typed. S-shiritori.

Pens and paperclips can be stolen at will, as well as the papers with mysterious writing on them! The letters almost seem to look like stylistic animal figures, if she looks at them closely enough. Hm.

UNISONYA: The entire room smells like DONUTS. Delicious, sweet, luxurious donuts. :9 The music she hears in the room is pretty nice and chill, honestly. Something you can really vibe too. And when she breaks a television, a piercing scream will echo throughout the room as a cloud of data fill with 1s and 0s seeps out of the cracks. The scream is so loud that it hurts, and when the sound dies away, Unisonya will find that she cannot speak for one IC day.

RUGGIE: Like Ritsuka, Ruggie will notice that the writing on the paper seems to be comprised of letters that look like stylistic animals. What's more, if he flips one of the paper's over, he'll notice a childish drawing of a SNEK WOMAN holding hands with a MONSTROUS AND GIANT SNEK MAN with a little heart hovering above their heads. Cute. All papers and batons and handcuffs can be stolen without issue. There are no false bottoms or hidden compartments in the desk, either!

While Unisonya smells DONUTS, Ruggie will smell COFFEE. There's no explanation for this. Cops like donuts and coffee, I guess.

MINATO: Minato will get responses similar to Ritsuka when typing words into the computer. Each reply will be a word that begins with the last letter of the word he had typed into the system. MORE SHIRITORI!!! Also he can easily take a pair of handcuffs. I don't know what he plans on using them for, either.

YANLI: She can remove papers without issue! She won't be able to see anything other than wires and tubing through the broken TV screens, but h-hey, at least Unisonya breaks one open completely to reveal the scream-y data cloud, right?? There is no CCTV manual, though Ritsuka manages to get one working anyone just by fiddling with the monitor, so it all works out! As for checking with ghosts, she will feel a SPIRITUAL PRESENCE, but it is one that is a bit too distant for her to really contact or commune with. It's there, though!!

THE CHAIR:

Whether Ruggie or Ritsuka or Yanli get to the chair first, Yanli's instincts were right on the money. As soon as anyone interacts with the chair, an angel will leap out from behind it, thrusting his weapon menacingly into the faces of the group. He is a very stern angel!! Very angry!! Very annoyed with the group rummaging through his office!! He will tell them they are trespassing on restricted territory and insist they are all under arrest. He will tell the group his name is "Divine Warrior," but he otherwise will not answer any questions.

He will then summon a couple of lesser Shadows to PUT THE GROUP UNDER ARREST. The Bribed Fuzz Shadows will attack first, mostly with physical assaults from their guns and batons and handcuffs. They are fairly weak, however; they can be taken out pretty easily and will vanish in a puff of smoke when killed. The Divine Warrior, however, is much stronger-- a Lvl 80 Shadow compared to your Lvl 20. Injuries in the fight with the Bribed Fuzz will be mild to nonexistent, but injuries from the Divine Warrior-- who will attack when the Bribed Fuzz are killed-- will be at least moderate! You can choose your own flavor of injuries, it's all good.

While fighting the Divine Warrior, you will notice something strange about him. . . he seems to have a golden locket hanging around his neck. Anyone with spiritual sense will sense that there is something. . . different?? Important?? About this piece of jewelry

QUICK FOLLOW UP: ARE U GOING FOR THE LOCKET.

[fujimaru]

RITSUKA PERSONALLY WILL NOT

but she will also absolutely summon someone to make the snatch yes

[directrice]

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

It takes a lot of maneuvering and avoiding of attacks for Ritsuka's summon to grasp the locket, but! They can do that! The moment the Servant has it in their hand, Ritsuka (not the Servant) will feel the emotional sensation of warmth and love and home and family. The sensation will fade after a few seconds, but the memories of it will linger on the back of her mind.

The Divine Warrior will go apeshit once the locket is taken away! He will do everything in his power to get it back, calling the group THIEVES and MISCREANTS as he does so. Sticking around to continue the fight will cause severe injuries, short of life-threatening, so it is recommended that the group make a hasty exit after this! If they do, the Shadow will not follow.

If anyone opens the locket, they will find an old, weathered picture of a woman with long, green hair and snake scales creeping up her cheeks smiling at the camera. Huh!

[directrice]

omg i love vicious

He can absolutely drain energy from the plants around him, though they are none too happy about this fact! They will try to take big bites of flesh out of him as soon as they feel their energy waning, and the vines will attempt to root him in place and maybe steal and eyeball from him if they can. The plants are mean, but not very strong, so he can beat them back into submission pretty easily.

He will not be able to harvest energy from those in solitary, though; there is some kind of magical barrier/blockade kind of thing preventing him from doing so.

Unfortunately, Vicious's Mystic Arte will not be able to blow up an entrance into solitary confinement. It doesn't even seem to dent the door or the walls around it, which seems very strange! After his attempt, Vicious will begin to feel super fatigued and super sleepy, and he'll find himself passing out on the spot. While blacked out, he'll hear a woman's voice, feel the sensation of a hand touching his cheek tenderly, and hear her speak the words-- They are okay, my child. They are protected.

When he wakes up, all will be as he left it. There will be no sign of a woman anywhere nearby, but he will have a large, green-ish blue snake scale tucked into his palm.

[directrice]

HENRY: The morgue lockers refuse to open, even with Henry's psionic/telekinetic powers. He will be trying until he gives himself a big ol' nosebleed, alas! Don't pass out, Henry.

He will sense no conscious minds in the morgue, nor will he be able to denote where any voices are coming from. However. . . when he starts to bleed, he will hear the sounds of something shuffling and thumping around in the morgue lockers. Those noises will continue throughout the exploration, and they do not at all feel alive to Henry. More on those later.

JADE: Jade is wise to warn people away from the plants, nods. The rot smell is a little bit of both general decomposition and rotting flesh. It's pretty nasty! Also the cold could definitely evoke an aggressive shift in physiology in Jade to try and adapt to the temperature, but even if it does, she will still find herself subject to the freezing temperature. No vampire cheating!

CHILDE: Childe what did Jade say about the flowers?? They actually don't seem to like the water much; in these temperatures, it causes them to freeze up, rendering them incapable of movement. Some of them make CHOMP CHOMP noises while frozen just to display their displeasure, but they can't exactly move to follow through, so. Childe may also pull water out of the flowers, but– uh. It's not water. It's blood.

The scent of blood will make whatever thing is shifting in the morgue boxes to bang loudly on the doors. The flowers will also wilt when their blood is stolen. Mean, Childe!!

THE THRONE: The throne cannot be melted with fire nor electro, and actually, the moment any character starts messing with it is the moment all of the morgue locker doors BURST OPEN. Two extremely gross amalgamations will ooze out of the morgue lockers. They cannot speak, but they are clearly hungry for blood, because they're going for Henry first as the freshest bleeder of the group. These two creatures will attack with dark-based magic, and are extremely strong; a solid Lv 80 to your characters' lvl 20 abilities. Injuries will be moderate; choose your own and play with them as you wish!

SOME FOLLOW UPS: the morgue doors are now open! Is anyone doing anything with them, or are they distracted by the fight?

Re: EXPLORATIONS

[directrice]

Before I answer this, can you guys give me a little more detail about what Ei and Lechter are doing around the front entrance? Actions they're taking, things they are poking, etc etc! That will give me more to work with when typing up your reply, and thus will give you something more interesting to play with! I probably won't get to this write up for a few days yet, so take your time ♥ You can reply to this comment with more detail when you have it!

Re: EXPLORATIONS

[directrice]

Before I answer this, can you guys give me a little more detail about what Alphinaud and Megumi are doing around the morgue or solitary? (Also please pick one of those, not both!) Actions they're taking, things they are poking, etc etc! That will give me more to work with when typing up your reply, and thus will give you something more interesting to play with! I probably won't get to this write up for a few days yet, so take your time ♥ You can reply to this comment with more detail when you have it!

[marmoris]

EXCELLENT, THANK YOU. While Childe and Henry keep the monsters busy, Jade will take a peek inside the open morgue doors. What will she find?

[directrice]

NIKKOU: He can move the plant life, but as soon as he touches any of the flowers or vines, they will try to bite him. They are very nippy, very hungry creatures. Since he's being gentle, however, they will only draw a little blood from him. As a Treat (TM).

He can collect the iron without issue, and pick up a candle if he'd like! The shapes in the flames seem to shift from demonic women to teddy bears and stuffed animals and monstrous beasts. Nothing in the flames looks familiar to him, but he does get the sensation that he is being watched. In fact, as he peers at a candle, a giggling laugh echoes from behind him, something else brushing up against the back of his neck. When he turns around, there will be nothing there.

Casting fire on the candle just causes the wax to melt even more. Casting blizzard completely snuffs the candle out, which-- well. A piercing scream echoes throughout the cell walk when he does that. The scream is so loud that it hurts, and when it fades away, Nikkou will find that he is unable to speak for 1 IC day.

There is nothing underneath the cell cots. He can freeze the water in the buckets with Blizzard, and when he looks into the frozen water, he will be able to see a reflection! It isn't his, though-- it looks like his monster, staring right back at him, teeth bared.

LECHTER: Lecther can steal scrap iron and the manacles without issue. However, when he touches the manacles, one of them will suddenly attach itself to his wrist! The other will snap out at Nikkou, and the two will be bound together by a set of manacles that cannot be broken nor removed by any physical means. When this happens, laughter will fill the air, and one of the candles Lecther is examining will burn brighter and brighter, the flame climbing higher and higher until it morphs into the shape of a cut li'l fairy.

The fairy will laugh at their plight and tease them about being stuck together, frequently perching herself on top of their heads or even the chain between them. When asked her name, she will introduce herself as the Beguiling Girl. She will answer no other questions, but she does think Lecther is cute and will flirt with him a bit.

The fairy is harmless and doesn't seem inclined to attack, but she insists that she knows!! A way!! For them to free themselves! However, it involves Lecther giving her a LI'L SMOOCH ;D

FOLLOW UP: will Lechter smooch the pixie, or will he and Nikkou try to find another way to free themselves from the manacles?

[directrice]

The interior of the morgue lockers is pitch black, and the rotting stench that permeates the room seems to be localized here. As soon as Jade peeks inside, she will be inundated with a piercing, anguished wail. It is grief-stricken and longing and the sound will cause her entire body to ache as though the most important person to her has been ripped away from this world.

The force of the wailing will also throw everyone in the room back into the nearest wall, knocking them out completely for a solid chunk of time. While passed out, the group will all hear the echoes of someone sobbing. It sounds like. . . a woman, but you can't be sure.

They're gone, she says.

When the group wakes up again, the amalgamations are gone, and the room is as it was before. The morgue lockers are closed, and nothing stirs within them.

Everyone in the group will be stricken with a mourning status effect for 1 IC day. They will feel as though someone important to them died, even if that person is still alive, and will be stricken with grief that they can't shake no matter what they do.

[vecna]

Oh my god, amazing— thank you for this!

QUICK QUESTION BECAUSE I PLAY A PROBLEMATIC VILLAIN CHARACTER WHO LOVES NO ONNEEEE…. Would the grief status effect still apply to him even if he has no one he would miss in his life if they died? Or would he just shrug while his teammates suffer a;ksdf

[directrice]

LMFAO HENRY

it would apply to him, yes! even if it is not directed towards anyone specific, he will still feel those emotions. good luck dealing with feelings Henry!!

[vecna]

EMOTIONS!! NO!!!

perfect thank you!

[directrice]

LUMINE: The blanket will come in handy in protecting her from the cold, but not by much! She may not get frostbite as easily as she would otherwise, but touching the morgue doors-- even with her hands covered by a blanket-- still gives her a tiny case of frostnip. (i.e. her fingers will turn blue and numb, but they'll heal within like a few IC days). The doors will not open no matter how much physical force she uses, and most of her elemental attacks don't seem to do anything, either.

However, as soon as she zaps the morgue locker doors with electro, something strange happens. . . each door lights up with a stylized image of a monster. There are nine images in all, and upon further investigation, she will notice these images are the exact same ones that are etched upon each team's dorm door: a phoenix, a cerberus, a nymph, etc etc. The images will fade within a few seconds.

WOLF: Wolf's sun powers will also help protect him from the cold, but only a little bit! He won't get frostbite when he slams into the doors, but like Lumine, he may get a tiny smidge of frostnip that will cure itself within a few IC days. The doors do not budge as he slams into them, but using his sun powers to ram the doors will produce the same lit up symbols as Lumine. Only. . . this time, all the etchings of the various team monsters are super dead. They're all covered in blood and stabbed with various spears and swords. Rip monsters. . . the symbols will vanish within a few seconds.

Amidst the stench of rot and flesh, Wolf will be able to pick up the faint whiff of carnations.

Wolf will also attract plant ire by trying to eat them or remove them :( LIKE WITH EVERYONE ELSE WHO MESSES WITH FLOWERS, they will try to take a bit bite out of him and Lumine, and the vines will attempt to steal eyeballs if they can!! The plants can be beaten back into submission, but Wolf and Lumine will sustain mile injuries from same.

THE THRONE: And finally, the moment Lumine touches the throne, ice will coalesce around her hand and wrist to freeze her in place. More ice will bloom around her feet and ankles to do likewise, and even Wolf will find himself suddenly rooted in spot by ice that seems to be growing out of nowhere! A shrill laugh fills the room, and a skeleton woman riding atop a crowned dragon will creep out from behind the throne. It's clear she is the one controlling the ice, for every time she flicks her hand, more crystals being to form around Wolf and Lumine's appendages.

If asked who she is, she will introduce herself as Mother Harlot and express her pleasure at having found two new playthings to toy with. She doesn't seem intent on killing them. . . at least, not right away? It's kind of that feeling one gets when they're a mouse being toyed with by a cat, sweats. She will answer no other questions and offer no further insight onto why those mysterious symbols appeared on the morgue doors.

Fortunately, Wolf and Lumine can use their abilities to break the ice shackles, but. . . they will find themselves freezing from the inside out, as though they are underneath some sort of spell. No sun magic nor blanket will be able to protect them from that, and if nothing is done about it, they will both be turned into ice statues within ten minutes.

The cup that Mother Harlot is sipping at. . . it's producing steam, and smells like whatever Wolf and Lumine's favorite warm drinks are (it can be different for both of them).

FOLLOW UP: would either of them go for the drink, or would they try something else to combat the internal freezing?

[badsunrising]

Lumine goes for the drink.

Wolf transforms back into his human self so he can summon his magical sword and attempt to attack Mother Harlot with sun-infused blasts. Because clearly that's the most important thing right now, and not the fact that he's freezing.

[terribletwos]

Lechter is naturally flirting back and going for that smooch! <3 Nikkou has paused bashing at the manacles with his keyblades to gape at this, dumbfounded.

Re: EXPLORATIONS

[sagescion]

Hello! I talked it over with Shiny and what we think we're going to do is check out Solitary and try to wake people up there and they'll discover that they likely can't. Idk about a specific object they'll poke just that we decided it would be fun to kind of consider them waltzing in - "Alisaie" and any other dropped cast mates would likely be there, I assume - and just general Alphinaud worry and panic while Megu takes charge of things. If there are other objects of interest in the room then I'm happy to direct them around that as well. (apologies I don't have the room description doc thing pulled up while I write this from my phone)

Re: EXPLORATIONS

[redheaded_menace]

Ok, hopefully this is more to work with? If not let me know and I'll edit.

Lechter is drawn to the front entrance because whatever comes through following this change, may very well use this means of access. He's examining the flowers and vines which seem to be creeping up all around. The gate is of particular interest to him, and how the plants have woven themselves through the iron. He's mindful of Ei and gives her a nod in greeting, but before he can speak, an unsettling sound of giggling catches his ears. He asks her if she hears that, but doesn't really wait for a response and tries to follow the sound.

Ei doesn't get spooked easily so she would probably be ready to react to Lechter following the sound basically on high alert. She's there to explore, mostly, but doesn't want Lechter wandering off and dying so she's prepared to follow him. Her curiosity will be about anything that strikes her as unfamiliar/modern technology since she's still very new to it.

[hearthwarming]

if someone were to uhhh use a Speak with Plants spell to actually talk to the angry flowers and ask why they're angry, would they get any kind of verbal response?

[directrice]

WOLF PLZ!!

Although the sun-infused blasts don't do much to harm Mother Harlot, even though she does seem to be ice-aligned, it serves as a good enough distraction for Lumine to snatch the warm cup of liquid! Mother Harlot shrieks in anger when her goblet is stolen, drops of the mysterious liquid splashing onto the ground in the process. . . and melting away any ice that had formed during the battle.

With her elixir gone, Mother Harlot curses Lumine and Wolf one last time before making a hasty retreat, leaving the two of them to their own devices. The liquid is so tantalizing, so enticing-- should Wolf and Lumine drink it, they will find themselves warmed from the inside out, protected from the cold in the morgue. There is only enough liquid in the goblet for each of them to have a sip.

They get to keep the cup afterwards!!

[directrice]

RIP ROXAS

The little fairy blushes when Lechter accepts her proposition and flirts back with her, and with a giggle she leans in for a super chaste smooch!! Once said smooch has occurred, she draws back with beet red features and flutters away, scattering fairy dust all around her as she goes. The fairy dust coats the manacles and, with an audible click, the manacles fall away, freeing Lechter and Roxas!

But something weird happens to the manacles once they fall away. As though blessed, the manacles suddenly turn a bright, shiny gold beneath Roxas and Lechter's eyes. The metal glistens brightly in the light of the candle glow, and the chains crumble away, leaving nothing behind but two golden bracelets.

Roxas and Lechter each get one, and once they pick it up, they know what these manacles do! The manacles will give Roxas and Lechter The Power of Pixie, one use. They will be able to use the golden bracelets cast Diarahan, which will completely heal any wound or injury, and can even revive someone who has died! Wao! The bracelets are one use only; after the skill has been used, they will just be sparkly, ordinary jewelry.

[directrice]

GOOD QUESTION!! That's the sort of thing that would get a fun response if you submitted an exploration, so feel free to do so c:! I will get back to you ASAP!

Re: EXPLORATIONS

[directrice]

ANY AND ALL ATTEMPTS TO OPEN THE DOOR: Absolutely no attempts at opening the door will be successful, unfortunately! However, each attempt will result in a unique status effect for the character trying. Status effects separated by attempt are:

Knock Spell: Constant ringing in Sprezzatura's ears for 1 IC day, plus a bonus of summoning a Friend (™), to be expanded on later.

Thunderstep: She and whoever she takes with her with slam face-first into the solitary door and possibly bruise their foreheads. In addition to this, they will have a teleportation glitch effect, where they will find themselves randomly glitched out of existence and then back into existence a few feet away (possibly in a funny pose!!) for 1 IC day.

Henry's psionic powers: Overuse of his powers will give him one hell of a nosebleed, possibly even worse than it is in canon! He will also sprout random flowers in his hair. He can pick them out, but one will always grow back in it's place. This will last for 1 IC day.

Nessa's magic: Her hair will turn rainbow colored, and she'll start to naturally shed glitter wherever she walks. This will last for 1 IC day.

THE GIGGLING PRESENCE: Sprezzatura may attempt to override the faces in the fire to her own shapes, but as soon as she does so, she'll have the sensation of something biting at her fingers as thought trying to get her to stop. The pain is real, but the biting will leave no marks behind. This will occur every time she uses Control Flames! Prestidigitation cantrip merely causes the giggling to increase in volume.

For Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, the giggling is the same as it was in previous explorations: full of gossip and non-sequiturs about how beautiful their hair is. They also think Sprezzatura is sexy, Nessa is cute, and Henry looks like a badass.

And finally, Sprezzatura's Detect Thoughts will clue her in on the existence of some kind of invisible being! However, the only thoughts she'll be able to hear are filled with the same sort of gossip that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian hear. Also, they really think she's sexy. Like, super sexy, goddamn.

SPREZZATURA: Alas, there are no hidden passages to be discovered.

LAN WANGJI: There's spiritual activity in the area, but he's felt it before! It's the same energy he felt when he last stumbled into Lilith's quarters. It doesn't necessary belong to Lilith's daughters, but it definitely belongs to a similar being. Shadows, if you will. Communication will be impossible. Nothing about solitary has seemed to change since he was here last.

WEI WUXIAN: No dead people in the area, thank goodness. Nothing with killing intent either– until Sprezzatura's friend arrives, but stay tuned for that one!

HENRY: Henry will be unable to pry into the minds of the dropped/sleeping characters. There's a magical block there, one that he cannot pass no matter how hard he tries. If he keeps pushing, a female voice will suddenly echo loud and stern in the back of his brain– It's impolite to peek, my dear. He will not be able to communicate with this voice or get it to speak to him again.

Henry can shuffle the candles around with his powers, but not the cots or an items inside solitaire. Again, there is a powerful magical block preventing him from doing so!

He can sense that there is SOMETHING in the nearby vicinity, and that whatever it is it is the source of the giggling, but he won't be able to discern who or where those creatures are. Just that they're around!

NESSA: Nessa's waking spell will not work on those in solitary; similarly, the magical block that prevents Henry from getting inside will block her spells as well. She can notice her brother is in there, though!

A FRIEND: The loud noise caused by Sprezzatura's spell will summon a friend! Except the friend isn't very friendly?? It seems super intent on guarding the door, and will attack the group on sight with wind-based magic. It is extremely powerful– Lvl 80 compared to everyone else being Lvl 20– and injuries to this creature will be moderate! It will not rest until it has somehow managed to chase the group away, yelling things like "LEAVE" and "PROTECT" as it fights.

FOLLOW UP: will you guys be handling the snake battle in any certain way, i.e. fighting back, trying to calm it down, running away, et al? Let me know and I'll give you the last bit!

[directrice]

Here you go, with flower actions and morgue door actions being written up last for Reasons (™)!

SPREZZATURA: The lighting in the morgue is electric! She cannot discern the source of the smell; it permeates the entire room without any notable source. It does not smell fresh. In fact, it smells horribly old, like rotting flesh allowed to sit for days on end. There is no source for the cold either; it evenly fills the entire room, though the throne is significantly colder than anything else. There are no items pertaining to embalming or autopsy in this room.

DA VINCI: When Da Vinci stis on the throne, some invisible force will immediately kick her. Like a hard boot to the bum. EXTREMELY RUDE!! If she tries to sit on it again, the same thing will happen. This seat is taken thank u!

ARTHUR: The throne shows no weaknesses via Arthur's spell (the morgue doors will be answered later)! There are no buttons to push in this room, alas. . . and while he can attempt to sense aether and use his fairy summons to find hidden things, both attempts will turn up nothing of note. His sensitive ears may pick up a slight thump thump inside the morgue lockers, but it's very distant and difficult to discern. . . is there something in there?

PERCY: Percy is free to sketch whatever he'd like! The throne is kind of pretty, after all.

TOLOVIR: The throne does not feel magical, per se. . . but it's definitely not normal. Its vibe is something more spiritual and/or emotional than magical. There are not drawers from which to steal things, other than the morgue drawers (stay tuned, that's upcoming)! And much like Da Vinci, something is booting him in the bum and kicking him off the throne when he sits on it. TAKEN SEATING, THANKS.

FLOWERS AND MORGUE DOORS: At first, the morgue doors refuse to open, no matter what anyone in the room does. Those who touch it physically will get frostbite, while those who attempt to open it magically will be spared the frostbite even though their efforts are in vain.

Sprezzatura and Percival may easily obtain cuttings of the frostbite-resistant flowers, though the plant life is none too happy about this. The flowers will bite and nip their captors, while the surrounding greenery may lash out towards other members of the group with vine wipes and gnashing flowery teeth. However, it isn't until Sprezzatura grabs a torch and lights up an entire vine that things start to get very hairy.

Each and every plant in the room lets out a blood-curdling scream, and the temperature of the room instantly switches from freezing cold to volcano hot. The throne melts into a puddle in an instant, and every flower in the room is on fire now, their screams echoing off of the walls. The thumping noise in the morgue lockers is getting louder, until the doors suddenly burst open and shadowy tendrils whip out to attack the entire group. The tendrils will attempt to whip, trip, cut and choke anyone they can get a hold of, and there are so many of them that avoiding them is difficult! However, they are also very weak, so taking them out with a few well-placed attacks should be fairly simple. Injuries will be moderate; choose your own to play with as you will!

Arthur's weakness-sensing spell didn't turn up anything on the throne or the doors themselves, but he will sense a "weak point" located deep inside one of the morgue lockers. Looking inside will reveal a glowing eye belonging to the attacker.

FOLLOW UP! What does the group do next?